Laid Bare
by Woofemus
Summary: "Maki-chan…" came Hanayo's voice, soft and uncertain. "I, um, was sure you, er, had all your clothes when I put you to bed, so… um… is… is there a reason you're naked in my bed?"
1. Chapter 1

There was nothing in all the world that could have prepared Maki for this moment, when she woke up to one of the worst headaches she ever had in her life.

There was also Hanayo standing by the bed with the most perplexed look on her face, staring down at her. Maki tried to look at her but everything was spinning in her head and _why did it just feel too bright_? She closed her eyes, groaning weakly.

"Maki-chan…" came Hanayo's voice, soft and uncertain. "I, um, was sure you, er, had all your clothes when I put you to bed, so… um… is… is there a reason you're naked in my bed?"

Maki snapped her eyes open–and immediately regretted that decision, slapping a hand over them now and cursing. If she had them open, she would have seen Hanayo turning even more red at her words.

It took her another moment to realize exactly what Hanayo had said. Risking the pain, Maki blearily opened her eyes and glanced down at herself and found, truly indeed, she was naked.

In front of Hanayo.

Hanayo, her friend of many years and the one who she happened to (sort of, maybe not, maaaaybe, only a tiny bit not really) be in love with for also so many years.

She swore again and quickly pulled the covers over her head, continuing her string of terrible words. Her head hurt too much for words to even describe, everything still felt like it was spinning even when she had her eyes closed, and she was so, so, _so_ thirsty.

"W-water," she rasped out, coughing slightly. "W-water! Please."

"O-oh! U-um! I put it next to the–ah! Here!"

Maki held the blankets over her body as carefully as she could as she took the glass of water from Hanayo. She didn't really need to though, as Hanayo kept her eyes down on the floor and respectfully turned away the moment Maki took the cup from her.

She only meant to take a gulp but the moment the water hit her mouth, she felt as if she had never tasted anything so good in her entire life. Before she knew it, the entire cup was gone, and things felt marginally better. This… this was okay, it wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it was, and she'd be stumbling back home fully clothed in no time, after a few more minutes.

"Done," she said, reaching to put the cup back onto the table–

Her grip on the blanket slipped just as Hanayo looked up. Maki felt her entire world stop. Hanayo stared at her, blinking for a moment before her eyes trailed downward.

Maki yelped, quickly diving under the blankets. "I-I-I'm sorry!" Hanayo shouted. Maki winced at the loud noise.

"I-i-it's fine," Maki quickly stuttered out, wishing her face would stop feeling like it was going to burn right off. Uncomfortable silence reigned afterward, the both of them wondering what to do.

"U-um… do you want some painkillers?" Hanayo asked, her voice soft.

"P-please," Maki replied in an equally soft voice, groaning weakly as she shut her eyes.

Hanayo made a sound and began to walk away. This… seemed like a good time to put on her clothes, but where even were her clothes? Maki knew with her sort of luck right now, Hanayo would walk right back in while she tried to look or when she was in the middle of changing. Better to hide under these blankets until it was safe.

"Maki-chan, here!" Hanayo was back before Maki even realized. She peeked out of the blankets, squinting her eyes. Hanayo, with her eyes averted, held out another full cup of water and painkillers for her, things that Maki gratefully took and quickly downed. It would take a while for the effects of the painkillers to kick in but Maki thought she was already feeling better.

"T-thanks, sorry to bother y-you," Maki murmured, hiding back under the blankets.

With her mind slightly clearer, she realized there was one very important question that needed to be answered: _why was she even in Hanayo's apartment in the first place?_

As if reading her mind, Hanayo began to talk, her voice still quiet as it was, something that Maki very greatly appreciated right now. "I, uh, came home last night and I found you outside. You seemed to be, erm, really drunk. Like… _really._ You couldn't even get up without falling over."

Maki wanted to slap herself.

"I helped you inside and then put you to sleep in my bed and slept outside on a spare futon."

"I… I…" Maki shut her eyes tightly, trying to recall the events of last night. "Ugh, why the hell did I drink so much last night? I…"

For some reason, Nozomi and Eli popped into her mind. "Nozomi and Eli?" That… made sense. _Of course_ it would be Nozomi and Eli. "I… I think they asked me go out with them, and I agreed. There… there was something bothering me last night… Nozomi kept—ah wait, was it… was it Eli instead? I don't know, but someone kept… refilling my cup and… and I remember walking home… Eli and Nozomi were… they were…" Maki trailed off, her mind starting to go blank.

"Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan? I didn't see them anywhere when I saw you." Hanayo was confused, hand on her chin. "But… that explains a lot…"

"I'm… I'm pretty sure they were the ones I went with… _pretty sure,_ " Maki continued, trying to think. "… ninety percent." She sighed, shutting her eyes tightly again to try to spark some sort of memory.

" _If you're so worried about Hanayo, why don't you go after her?" Eli said worriedly._

 _Maki slowly put the cup on the table, eyes wide and staring at Eli as if she said the best thing she had ever heard. Her face felt too hot, everything felt too hot, but somehow, that idea seemed to make_ sense _to her. "You're right, I need to leave."_

" _Maki, wait, I didn't mean it–"_

 _Nozomi snickered as she watched Eli lunge across the table and grab Maki's arm, trying to pull her back to her seat. "Stop laughing and help me, Nozomi!"_

" _Right, right," Nozomi said, getting up from where she sat to push Maki back down into her seat._

" _What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Maki shouted. "You tell me to do something and then you, you stop me from doing it!"_

" _She has a good point, Elichi."_

" _Don't_ you _start this with me now," Eli said with a hiss. "Maki, just calm down for a moment and–" Maki stopped to glare at her. It would have been effective, if it weren't for the fact that her face was entirely flushed and it seemed more like she was trying to focus her vision instead._

" _Hanayo-chan wouldn't like it very much if you went over there right now," Nozomi only said. As if she had said the magic words, Maki immediately sank back down into her seat, feeling drained of energy. She groaned weakly, reaching out to grab her half-filled mug._

" _Maki," Eli said in warning, reaching out with her hand. "you're drinking too much–"_

" _Elichi, wait. I think this'll be a nice experience for her," Nozomi cut in, grinning as she pulled Eli's arm back. "Maki-chan's never quite let herself go like this before."_

 _Maki swished the cup in her hands for another second before raising it to her lips. She took a sip before throwing it all back, ignoring Eli's sharp gasp, muttering angrily. "I'm… I'm always too busy to make time for her and even when I can, it's only an hour at most, and then I just get too tired sometimes to respond and I feel so bad about it but she always takes the time to give me all these cute little messages. And now she's… she's…" She put her head on the table, whimpering pitifully. "Now she's on a date with someone else and Rin keeps telling me they have so many things in common, like idols. Idols! I thought_ I _was her favorite."_

" _Uh…" Eli reached out, awkwardly patting Maki on the head. "I really think you've had enough now, c'mon–"_

" _Eli, you were already drinking by the time I got here, don't you dare tell me I'm done."_

" _Yeah, but this is like water compared to_ –"

Maki gasped, coming back to her senses. Last night… she remembered Eli and Nozomi helping her out… and they were taking her down a street that seemed… familiar… and then they helped her to the door that also seemed familiar…

It was familiar because she was going down the road to _Hanayo's apartment,_ Maki was beginning to realize.

And Nozomi and Eli's help resulted in her being unceremoniously dumped here for Hanayo to find, Maki also realized, irritation growing.

But… but Hanayo had come back alone, hadn't she? Did that… did that mean…

The words were slipping out of Maki before she could think. "How was your date yesterday?"

"H-huh? D-date?" There was a silence. "Y-you knew?"

Maki narrowed her eyes. What was _that_ supposed to mean? "I, er, R-Rin told me."

"Rin-chan…. huh." Hanayo said nothing else afterward. Maki wanted to look at her but that meant leaving the safety of the blankets she was under.

W-wait, she was in Hanayo's bed, under the same covers Hanayo used, _naked–_

"It was fine," Hanayo spoke then. Maki was glad for the distraction from her thoughts but now they were taking an even darker turn once she realized what Hanayo said.

"F-fine?" she squeaked, wincing at the high pitch of her voice. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "U-uh, I… er, you, um, you had fun?"

"I had fun," Hanayo answered with a thoughtful hum. "It went better than I expected."

"… oh."

Once again, Maki began to curse, at herself this time. She knew she should have went, she knew she should have tried to… tried to…

Tried to… _what?_ Interrupt Hanayo's date? Was that what she would have really done?

 _Yes,_ a part of her answered, the one that was about to push her already sour mood into further crankiness. _If you told Rin and Nozomi about it, they'd help you out, maybe not Eli but that's okay we can knock her out–_

"Maki-chan? Are… are you okay?"

"H-huh?!" Maki shuffled, turning around. She carefully pulled the blankets off her face, peering up at Hanayo. "W-what?"

"You just got quiet all of a sudden–" and Hanayo gasped, as if remembering something. "O-oh! Um, you're, uh, still naked! Did, um, you want to put your clothes back on?"

"… clothes? Naked?" Maki looked at her strangely. It wasn't until she moved her hands down her body that she was reminded that _yes,_ she was still indeed _very much naked._ "Shit—I mean, y-yes!"

The sound of Hanayo laughing made Maki pause. "I-I'm sorry, I'll go get your clothes right now," Hanayo said, still giggling. While the sound of Hanayo laughing was like a beautiful song to Maki's ears, right now wasn't a very good time, especially not with Maki trying to salvage the rest of her dignity.

Still, the sound helped calm her down a bit even if everything else seemed unbearable.

"I put your clothes by the bed." Hanayo's voice drifted over to her. "U-um, if you still feel tired though, feel free to rest up! I'll be outside if you need me."

"… o-okay," Maki only said. Hanayo made a sound and walked away. Soon, the door closed and Maki was left on her own.

Maki pushed the blankets off and sprang up, eager to _finally_ put clothes back on her body. The cold air of the room hit her body along with terrible nausea. She put a hand on her face, hitting it lightly and cursing herself out, something she knew wasn't going to be the last time for today. After waiting for the wave to pass, she blearily opened her eyes, finding her clothes at the edge of the bed. As quickly as she could, she dressed. Now came her next problem: what to do next.

The headache that was hammering at her head had dulled since she had woken up. Still, taking another nap didn't seem like a bad idea, especially since Hanayo's covers were just so warm and fluffy, just like white rice she loved to eat. But still, she was in Hanayo's home, and what Maki wanted to do right now was be miserable by herself.

She carefully stood up, wincing at how it felt like the very ground was moving underneath her. All she had to do was thank Hanayo for taking care of her, stumble her way home, and then figure out what to do once she was back in the comfort of her own home. Only a few more minutes of awkwardness and today would be done.

Maki emerged from the room, squinting her eyes. Hanayo looked up from where she sat, smiling at her. "Maki-chan! I just finished making tea, please have some!" She gestured to the empty seat in front of her.

"A-ah?" Maki blinked, realizing this was not how she was expecting things to go. "I, I, um… I…"

Hanayo tilted her head at her. "Yes?"

Maki sighed, realizing how terrible it would look if she just… left, especially after all the help Hanayo had given to her. She shuffled over to the empty seat, feeling sluggish and heavy. Hanayo took the kettle and poured the hot liquid into a cup, handing the glass over to Maki.

"T-thanks," Maki mumbled, taking a sip of the tea to distract herself. It felt good to her aching body.

The two of them sat in silence, with Maki staring at her cup and Hanayo doing… doing whatever she was doing, Maki didn't know. She didn't want to risk looking up and catching Hanayo's eyes for fear of any sort of any ensuing conversation.

… not that it mattered when Hanayo spoke up anyway. "Maki-chan–"

"Yes?!" Maki yelped.

Hanayo made a sound of surprise. There was another silence.

"… sorry," Maki mumbled, coughing quietly. "I… er, g-go ahead."

"O-oh, um…" Hanayo took a sip of her tea before placing the cup on the table, the thud seeming like a sentence being handed down to Maki. "Maki-chan, last night, you… you, um, were really drunk."

"… I know," Maki muttered, swearing to never go drinking with Nozomi and Eli ever again.

"… is there something wrong? You… you don't normally drink a lot, do you?"

"… no. To both. I-I mean, nothing's wrong, and y-yeah, I don't normally drink a lot but… I… um, felt like it. Last night. With Nozomi and Eli. That's all. Right."

"… oh. S-sorry but I… I was just wondering, since it's been a while since we've last talked."

And there it was. Maki sucked in a breath. She sneaked up a glance at Hanayo but found the other girl had a polite smile on as she idly played with her cup.

"I… yeah." Maki gulped, staring down at her hands. "I… we… we haven't been able to spend a lot of time together, and you're… you're always sending me all these messages and still trying to talk to me but I always read them too late and feel awkward about replying to them so many hours later… it's my fault, I'm sorry." She tried not to cringe at her words. They sounded so pathetic when she said them aloud.

"O-oh! I didn't mean… I didn't mean it like…" Hanayo trailed off but Maki knew she realized that there was just no other way to explain it.

"I'm sorry! I-I know it sounds like an excuse but I… it's just been _so_ busy and I haven't… I haven't been able to catch a break and it's…" she let out a deep breath, shaking her head. "I don't even remember the last time I had a proper meal, to be honest."

"M-Maki-chan! That's terrible!" Hanayo stood up and leaned across the table, grabbing one of Maki's hands. Her gaze was oddly determined as she nodded. "You're going to stay here for dinner then!"

Maki gaped at her. "W-wait! What?! Ha-Hanayo!"

"Resting up means getting good nutrition too!" Hanayo stood up, walking over to her fridge. "You should also eat some food right now too. I don't have much right now but I won't let you leave on an empty stomach!"

"Wait, y-you don't need to do any of this!"

Hanayo turned around, a fire in her eyes. Maki immediately quieted down, realizing she had now lost all chances of leaving early. "Maki-chan, it's fine! Don't worry about it, really. We can try to catch up too!" She turned back around to the fridge.

Maki sighed, wanting nothing more than to slap herself right now. She wanted to wallow in self-pity for the rest of the day but now she was stuck with Hanayo. The thought normally would have made her excited but Hanayo was the source of all her inner turmoil right now. She wasn't exactly proud of herself and wondered exactly how someone could recover showing up drunk to their friend's home and ending up naked in their bed.

… at least Hanayo wasn't in bed with her.

… not that Maki could remember exactly when her clothes came off, and whether she did _anything else_ after taking them off either.

"Only a few hours," Maki quickly muttered her breath, trying her hardest to ignore the path her thoughts wanted to take, panic rising still. "Only a few hours, only a few more hours, only a few more–"

"Hm? Did you say something Maki-chan?"

She snapped her head up, shaking it furiously. Terrible mistake because now it seemed like the world was shaking with her too. She slapped her eyes and groaned weakly before answering. "N-nothing!" She waited for when she felt like a safe period and slowly took her hand off, hissing in pain. Hanayo was now in front of her, staring at her oddly. Hanayo hummed and said nothing else. Maki reached out and took a sip of her tea, trying to figure out what to do now.

"By the way, Maki-chan… do you remember what happened last night?"

Maki froze. "Last night? You mean after Nozomi and Eli? When you, er, found me?"

"Y-yeah."

Maki frowned as she tried to remember. There was Hanayo picking her up, that much she could recall. She remembered staring at Hanayo and saying something, maybe a lot of things? Hanayo's face looked sort of odd too, if she thought about it. It seemed like she was embarrassed about something. There was also something else too… she remembered saying something…

… she remembered saying _a lot_ of things. Hanayo was in front of her, and her face was _really_ close–

"I-it's fine if you don't remember! I-I was just, um, wondering."

"N-no… it's…" Maki let out a small growl. The more she tried to remember, the more her head hurt, but it felt as if there was something very important that she needed to remember. After all, why was Hanayo asking her this in the first place?

… but when she tried to recall, there was nothing, except for Hanayo's surprised face.

 _Something_ happened, she was sure of it, but she wasn't going to figure it out on her own. She looked up and met Hanayo's eyes. "Did… did something happen last night?"

Hanayo startled, blinking at her. "N-no!" Maki wasn't sure, but she swore there was a tinge of pink on Hanayo's face.

She wanted to ask further, but… _how_? It was terrible and awkward enough, trying to figure out what her drunk self even did in that period of fogginess. And then asking _Hanayo!_ How exactly was she supposed to ask Hanayo what had happened last night without feeling awkward and lose even less of her dignity, whatever else she even had at this point?

… nothing would ever beat sleeping in Hanayo's bed naked and being caught, Maki quickly decided. And this was _Hanayo_ anyway. At least sweet Hanayo wasn't the type to go around blabbing to people when things happened.

But she knew it was only a matter of time before Nozomi would somehow inexplicably find out, and the last thing she wanted was to be in the dark about her own actions.

"Hanayo," she tried again, clearing her throat to give herself a little more time. "I… I, um, something… something happened last night, am… am I right?"

"I… I, um… u-um…" Hanayo refused to look at her. "You… you, um, were saying some… some things."

"Some… some things," Maki repeated, feeling nothing but dread. But she had already committed herself to this, and she needed to know what had happened. "Like… like what?"

Hanayo's face reddened. "W-well, you, um, were _very_ expressive about your feelings for Nozomi and Eli dropping you on the ground. You have a way with, um, words and colorful language."

"… thank… you?" Maki wasn't sure how to feel, especially coming from Hanayo.

"And… a-and…" Hanayo trailed off before standing up abruptly. "N-never mind, I'll g-go get you some food–"

"H-Hanayo!" Maki shot out of her seat, grabbing Hanayo's hand before she could escape. "What else did I say?! I mean, you've already seen me naked, it can't be worse than that, can it?" she joked. Hanayo didn't answer, and Maki soon realized that yes, it could be worse.

"You… y-you were… saying a lot of things, e-er, um about me too," Hanayo whispered, still looking away. Maki had the feeling she wasn't going to like where this was going. "Maki-chan, I… I never knew… you…"

Maki held her breath. Hanayo looked up, her expression tearful.

"I never knew you didn't like white rice that much!"

Maki froze. "I… _what?_ "

Hanayo gasped then. "Wait a minute… is that why you were jealous?"

"I, wait, Hanayo, I, um?" If Maki wasn't already confused, she was even more now, staring at Hanayo. "Jealous?"

"All those times I kept giving you rice balls, you were always staring at everyone else's lunchboxes too… I'm sorry I never realized!"

"… I… I told you I didn't like white rice?" Maki asked, bewildered as to what was even going on. Was… was this what her drunken self had admitted? That… that seemed strange, Maki was sure white rice was okay. It wasn't the greatest thing ever like Hanayo always touted but it was–

Hanayo grabbed her hands, looking at her guiltily. "I'm sorry, Maki-chan, I won't try to feed you any more excess rice."

"H-Hanayo, wait, I think rice is… rice is okay? I… I-I mean it isn't the best–" Hanayo pouted and Maki quickly changed her words. "I-I mean, it _is_ good and everything, but I, u-um, like… variety. And… I… um…" Maki felt her cheeks burning and she struggled to get the rest of her words out. "I… I like your… your rice so… I d-don't mind e-eating more of it. W-whatever I said last night… it's… um, not how I feel?"

"… really?" Hanayo gave her a hopeful look. Maki quickly nodded.

"Really, yeah," Maki said. Hanayo smiled at her, and Maki felt like letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Maki-chan. I was so worried about it." She let go of Maki's hands and walked away into her kitchen, her back facing Maki now. "I'll just make some quick food for you right now and then we can go out for dinner later, okay?"

"S-sounds good!" Maki walked back to her seat, feeling nothing but relief. If that was all she said last night, then… then it was okay. It still didn't quite explain why her drunk self thought it was a good idea to get naked in Hanayo's home of all places, but that was a problem for another day.

Meanwhile, Hanayo adamantly kept herself facing forward and away from Maki, trying her hardest to calm the pounding of her heart. When she came home to find an overly drunk Maki on her doorstep, she panicked and asked Rin and Kotori for advice.

Maki seemed none the wiser though Hanayo suspected she was most likely nursing the biggest headache of her life right now and more than distracted to think about the holes of Hanayo's story.

Hanayo wondered what to do now. The date that she had supposedly gone on last night wasn't even one, she was just meeting up with one of her friends from college for dinner because they happened to be in the area. Being told it was a date from Rin must have been one of her best friend's constant pranks on Maki, something that never stopped even after they graduated.

… the real question was why she even went along with Rin's prank. Hanayo would clear things up, when the opportunity presented itself.

After all… she didn't quite need that small lie anymore, not with what happened last night…

Hanayo put her hands on her face, feeling a flush creep across her cheeks. What was she supposed to do now, especially since Maki had confessed her feelings for her and _didn't even remember._


	2. Chapter 2

There was indescribable softness and comfortable warmth next to her, Maki realized when she woke up. She sighed in contentment, eyes still closed as she shifted and moved to curl closer to the warmth. One of her hands trailed downward.

This softness… it felt amazing. It was absolutely heavenly. Even in her half-conscious state, Maki already knew there was nothing else that could compare.

The softness moved suddenly and there was a puff of air against her face.

Maki snapped her eyes open, alarmed.

Hanayo's sleeping face greeted her.

Hanayo's sleeping face and _naked_ body greeted her.

Horrified, Maki shot her eyes down to where her hand was and realized she was palming the curve of Hanayo's body. Without her even realizing it, her hand slipped downward, touching Hanayo's stomach.

Maki sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. Even though every instinct was telling her to get away, there was something anchoring her down, and it was this incredible softness. Unable to help herself, all she could do was squeeze down a little, marveling at the wondrous feeling–

Hanayo let out a groan and opened her eyes.

Maki froze completely.

"Mm…" Hanayo blinked several times before her eyes focused. Her voice was still thick with sleep as she murmured. "H-huh? Maki-chan?" She brought up her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. Even as Maki continued to remain frozen, unable to speak or move, she still couldn't help but think that Hanayo looked adorable.

"Maki-chan?" Hanayo asked again, brow furrowed with worry. "Is something wrong? Maki-chan?"

Maki gasped then and faced Hanayo completely, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "Why are you naked in my bed?"

"Huh?" Hanayo blinked at her and looked down at herself. Maki could see the exact moment of realization hitting her, as her eyes widened. "H-h-huh?! I-I am!" She stared downward, blinking as if noticing something else. "U-um… Maki-chan… your hand…"

"… huh?" Maki followed her gaze, and realized her hand was _still_ on Hanayo, fingers moving slightly even. "S-shit! Sorry!" Maki immediately tore her hand away and pulled back. She shot out of the covers and suddenly, she felt herself in the air–

–and now she was staring up at the ceiling, the back of her head throbbing painfully.

"M-Maki-chan?!" Hanayo's concerned face came into sight, blocking the ceiling. "Are you okay?!"

"No," Maki squeaked out, wincing and trying her hardest not to cry from the pain. She slowly sat up instead, rubbing her head and groaning miserably. She turned to look over at Hanayo–

Hanayo's arms were over her head, stretching out her body. Her lips parted to let out a soft sigh. With her stretch, her chest pushed out slightly and Maki found herself unable to help but stare, her eyes completely wide. Her throat was dry and she felt like everything… everything was…

Maki was back on the floor, head slamming against it once more, pushing her forehead as hard as she could. Her thoughts swirled in her head but all she could think about was how soft Hanayo's body was, how amazing she felt, how–

"Maki-chan?" Hanayo's voice drifted over to her once more.

"Y-y-yes?!" Maki yelped out.

"… um, can you get my glasses, please? They're on top of the table."

"O-oh, u-uh, yeah, I… I can do that, yeah." Maki looked up, seeing the frames in question. She grabbed them and held them out toward the bed. "H-here."

"T-thank you." Hanayo reached over to grab them. Their fingers brushed and Maki nearly jolted from the contact. The moment she felt the glasses leave her hands, she shot her hand back.

She needed to get out of here. She needed… she needed to splash some water on her face. Everything felt too hot and she needed to cool down. That was what she needed. "I'm… I-I'm going to go out and use the bathroom." Without any other warning, she scrambled to her feet and all but ran to the door, rattling the door knob.

It didn't open.

"… what?" Maki tried again, turning the knob. Still locked. "How the hell?" She looked down at the knob. "It's… it's not locked?" Just in case, she turned it and tried again. Still locked. "What the hell!?"

"W-what's wrong?" Hanayo called out.

"T-the door's locked! From like outside or something." Maki groaned, resisting the urge to slam the door with her fist. She leaned her head against it instead, sighing loudly. "Leave it to Nozomi to invite us out somewhere and then pull something like this," she muttered. She tried the door several more times even knowing it was futile.

"What's going on?" Hanayo called out again, worried now.

"Door isn't opening no matter how much I tried. Looks like we'll be trapped here for a while."

"… ah."

Maki let out another breath and turned around. Hanayo had the blankets wrapped around her, thankfully hiding most of her body. Still, it didn't stop Maki from letting her imagination take over, as she began to imagine exactly what was under–

"Maki-chan, can you do me a favor?"

Maki startled, blinking rapidly at Hanayo. "U-um, ah, uh, yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Can you see if m-my clothes are, um, on the floor? Or… somewhere?"

"Y-yeah, give me a moment." Glad for a chance to distract herself, Maki looked around. The floor was bare and there was nothing on the single table in the room, nor anything in the chair under the table as well. "I… I don't see anything," she said, going to the drawers and opening them. Nothing inside.

"Oh…" Maki looked back at the bed. Hanayo was shuffling around, looking around the bed as well. "I don't think there's anything here…"

"U-um… maybe you can borrow my clothes then?" Maki turned to the corner where she left her bag. "… and of course, it's gone," she muttered, slapping her forehead.

It was silent afterward, with the both of them wondering what to do now. Maki tried not to think about Hanayo on the bed, her naked body wrapped in the blankets.

Maki took in a deep breath, her hand on her burning face. It was hot. Everything felt hot. Even her ears were burning.

How did she keep getting into these situations?

There was only one way to find out.

"Can… can I ask what happened last night?" Maki asked carefully.

"H-huh?"

"Remember, I went to sleep early because I had a headache?"

"O-oh yeah! How is it now? Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm fine now, yeah."

"A-ah…" Maki sneaked a glance over at Hanayo. She was looking down at the bed, lips pushed together in thought. "N-not long after you left, Umi-chan went to bed too. Nozomi-chan brought out some alcohol for us and Honoka-chan and Rin-chan fell asleep soon after too…" Hanayo wrapped the blanket tighter around herself. "We stayed up to talk for a little longer. I… I was sure I fell asleep before everyone else did though. Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan helped me back to my room."

… this was starting to sound startlingly familiar, Maki was beginning to realize, eyes narrowed in growing suspicion.

"I don't remember much because I was really sleepy but Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan helped me to bed too. And then that's all I can remember." Hanayo made a sound. "O-oh! I was pretty sure I, um, had my clothes on before I fell asleep. And… I was sure there wasn't anyone in bed…" She paused. "I think."

"… I think I got it," Maki muttered, running a hand through her hair in frustration. Now that she knew Nozomi and Eli were involved, she was no longer surprised at anything anymore. Tired of standing up, she took a seat at the edge of the bed, making sure to face away from Hanayo.

" _Maki-chan, we're planning on going on a trip together in two weeks! Come play with us!"_

 _Maki stared at the message from Nozomi on her phone with a frown. Waiting for another moment, she typed back a response. "I'm busy, sorry."_

" _Aw, don't be like that! Everyone's going!" Maki sighed, putting her phone on her desk. Maybe if she didn't answer, Nozomi would leave her alone and stop bugging her. Her phone vibrated again._

" _Hanayo-chan will be coming. I promise I'll make it worth your while ;)"_

 _Maki stared at her phone, slowly picking it back up._

"… _I'll see."_

And now, Maki was here, in a vacation home near the sea rented out by Nozomi. Stuck with Hanayo in her room when she was supposed to be alone. Hanayo, who didn't have any clothes on. Hanayo, whose body was just so _delectably soft_ –

Maki slapped her hands over her face, ready to scream.

"M-Maki-chan?!" She felt Hanayo's hand on her back, hesitantly touching her. She nearly flinched from the touch.

"I-I-I, uh, yeah, I'm okay. Just… just trying to wake myself up some more," she answered, trying to keep from turning around and also keeping herself very still.

"O-oh… okay…." Hanayo kept her hand on for a lingering moment before it fell away. Maki ignored the sudden coldness she felt. She busied herself with looking all over the room instead, stewing in her thoughts.

She originally hadn't even meant to come at all, already scheduled to work at the hospital that weekend. There was a part that did want to go though. It _had_ been a while since she had seen everyone. It was already hard enough trying to get everyone back together at the same time, with all of them busy with school and jobs that it seemed nearly impossible sometimes to even coordinate times together. And that wasn't even including when some of them left to further parts of Japan or even _out_ _the country,_ thankfully only temporarily.

Even Eli had tried to send her a few messages to convince her to go, but…

Maki hadn't talked to Hanayo ever since… ever since last time.

In the end, what had convinced her to go wasn't even herself or any of her friends, it was her mother somehow hearing of the plans and then all but pushing her out the door and telling her to have fun with her friends. Maki already spent all her time at the hospital, she could afford to do something else, her mother said.

And Maki found herself rushing to the train station everyone was already waiting at, about to step onto the train. Everyone was surprised, staring at her as if she was ghost. Then, they reacted, with Rin and Honoka hugging her excitedly, everyone else smiling exasperatedly at her for worrying them and coming so late.

Maki tried not to think about how Hanayo seemed both relieved and nervous.

Not that Maki could blame her. Even Maki herself couldn't stop thinking about everything, about what to say, about what to do, everything. What _was_ she even supposed to say?!

" _Hanayo, it's been a long time since we've talked! You know, since that time I was got dead drunk and naked in your room without even remembering!"_

Maki inhaled sharply, face burning at the memory. Like every embarrassing memory she had since she was young, it resurfaced every now and then as if to remind her what a huge embarrassment she was, like when Maki was laying in bed and trying to sleep, or when she was taking a bath and trying to relax, or _every single moment when she had free time._

She wanted to bash her head in somewhere, anything to make her forget that terrible memory. She still couldn't remember what had happened from when she had gotten inside of Hanayo's apartment to when she went to sleep. There was a nagging feeling that there was something more to what Hanayo had told her no matter how much Maki tried to convince herself that what she had gotten was the truth. But if she had… then… then why…

Maki hoped it was her imagination but Hanayo seemed to be acting… differently. She seemed… more skittish than usual (not that Maki was much better really.) Even on this trip, they barely said anything to each other although Maki couldn't help but feel like Hanayo was trying to avoid her. Hanayo had said afterward that everything was fine but Maki knew that with an incident like _that_ , there could be nothingbut awkwardness for the both of them.

She sighed and rubbed her head, trying to figure out what to do. A thought came to her though. "Oh, you said you drank last night, right? Are you okay?" she asked, moving her head slightly to glance behind her.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I didn't drink that much. I guess I was just really tired from… everything. It's been a while, after all," Hanayo answered, her voice quiet.

Maki tried not to focus on the last part of her sentence. "That's… that's good. You're… you're surprisingly taking this better than I thought."

She heard Hanayo moving. "H-huh? What do you mean?"

"Uh…" Maki wanted to slap herself. What exactly _did_ she mean? "I… I-I, uh, I mean, being n-naked and u-uh, being locked i-in here with… with me." She began to blabber on, too nervous to stop. "I-I mean, w-when I was naked in your room, I-I c-couldn't stop p-panicking and I-I was also h-hungover too and that was the w-worst thing I've e-ever felt in my life a-and it was just c-completely terrible and t-then… then…" Maki shut her mouth, realizing exactly what she was revealing. There it was, the next hole she had dug herself into. She couldn't even blame herself being stupidly drunk this time.

Hanayo laughed.

Maki blinked rapidly, not expecting that sound. She turned around to look at her, brow furrowed. "S-sorry," Hanayo said, still giggling. "But it's… it's just… I mean, I _am_ nervous too!" Maki watched as she moved her legs up and buried her face in her knees, letting the top of the blankets cover her head completely. With the blankets hiding her from sight now, she looked like a strange white lump on the bed. "I don't know where my clothes are! It's… it's awkward being naked under the blankets too. A-and… you're… you're in the room too! Everything just feels like a really bad dream and I just feel like laughing!" She did so but Maki thought she was on the verge of being hysterical.

"… I'm sorry," Maki found herself saying.

"H-huh?" Hanayo moved the blanket from her head to peek out at her. "Why are you apologizing? What for?"

"I…" Maki looked away, nervously twirling her hair as she always did. "I… it just…" She shut her mouth. This… this awkwardness… it was all her fault, she couldn't help but feel. The way Hanayo was unsure around her, the way Hanayo felt like a stranger to her right now…

If only… back then… she had spoken up, if she had… done something, if…

If only she hadn't been scared, all those years back then.

"Maki-chan?" Hanayo's voice was soft as she spoke. "Are you okay?"

"I…" Maki didn't know what to say. But she hated this tense atmosphere between them, hated how it didn't feel comfortable anymore, hated herself for not realizing how bad things really were. "I don't know!" she cried out suddenly, growling in frustration. "But I just feel like everything is my fault and I don't even know _where_ to start to explain this feeling and it… I just…"

She stared down at her hands, wishing that she could be anywhere except here. But that was how she got into this mess in the first place, by pushing things that needed to be taken care of out of her mind and convincing herself to deal with it later.

Was Hanayo something she could push away and deal with later? As she had always done in the past?

 _If you wait too long, it'll be too late,_ a part of her mind (which sounded suspiciously like Nozomi) began to tell her. Her mind flashed back to the first incident, remembering _exactly_ why she had willingly let Nozomi provoke her into taking so many drinks.

Despite everything, there was a tiny surge of jealousy, adding to her increasingly foul mood.

"Maki-chan?"

" _What_ —gah!"

At the sound of her name, Maki looked up—and nearly screamed, realizing how close Hanayo was now, having moved next to her when it seemed as if Maki remained frozen for a long time.

"D-don't scare me like that!" Maki breathed, trying to calm down the pounding of her heart. She swore even Hanayo could hear this, drumming so loudly from inside.

"A-ah, I'm sorry." Hanayo bowed her head in apology, pulling the blankets tighter around herself.

"W-wait, no, sorry. I… I overreacted." Maki sighed, frowning again. There it was, that way Hanayo looked as if she didn't know how to act around Maki. Weren't… weren't they supposed to be good friends? Was this how Nozomi and Eli acted around each other too?

 _Wait, that's actually a really terrible example_.

Maki shook her head, trying to clear the uncertainty in her mind. There… there was only one way to fix this, she was beginning to realize. She was the one who made things complicated by being indecisive. She had to do this, for the both of them. Taking a deep breath first, she turned to Hanayo, eyes serious.

"Are you seeing anyone right now?"

Maki froze. _That wasn't what she meant to say, that wasn't what she meant to say,_ ** _that wasn't what she meant to say–_**

Hanayo blinked rapidly at the sudden question. "E-eh? A-ah? I… h-huh?" She slowly looked up at Maki, gaping at her. "Are… are you asking…"

"I… I mean… l-last time, y-you said you went out with… with someone, r-right? A-and you s-said you had… h-had fun," Maki stammered out. She wanted nothing more than to punch herself in the face right now, anything to make herself stop speaking, but there was a growing part of her that wanted to hear this answer, _needed_ to hear this answer.

"I… o-oh! That… that was…" Hanayo made a sound, something like a quiet whimper. Maki waited anxiously, pushing her clammy hands against her legs.

Hanayo glanced up at her before hiding her face within the blankets again. "What… w-what would you do if… if I was?"

Maki felt her stomach drop. "Eh?! What?! W-wait, w-what?!" She spun to Hanayo, grabbing what she hoped was her shoulder. "You… you are?!"

Hanayo didn't answer or move, still hiding within her blankets.

"W-wait! H-Hanayo! Are… are you serious? You're… you… I…" Maki trailed off, suddenly feeling as if she couldn't speak. All she could do was make incoherent noises, gasping with surprise and… and…

There was the crushing feeling of disappointment Maki didn't think she would ever feel again, the same when they left for different universities and she realized she had lost the chance to speak the words that were caught in her heart.

"I'm… I… I guess—I-I mean, I'm… I'm happy f-for… for you," she said, forcing the words out. She awkwardly moved closer and carefully put an arm around the white lump of blankets. She patted what she hoped was Hanayo's other shoulder. "Y-yeah!"

Hanayo was still silent. Maki wondered if that was the right thing to say. Maybe it wasn't? It sounded more like Hanayo had told her she was engaged and they were going to be married. Hanayo… Hanayo wasn't engaged, right?

Wait, the date that Hanayo went on, Maki never heard whether it was their _first_ date. Had… had Hanayo been seeing someone for a long time? Were they already going to tie the knot?! Did Maki fall out of touch with Hanayo that much?!

Maki slowly put her other hand on her face, eyes wide with mortification. Hanayo was… one of her very good friends, and to think that she had missed this whole part of her life because she was too busy… it made her ashamed.

There was also a growing part that wanted to do nothing but despair and agonize over losing Hanayo but Maki desperately pushed that part away. That would be a problem for another day. At least when she was away from Hanayo.

"Maki-chan."

"H-huh?!" Maki shot her eyes down to next to her. Was… was Hanayo mad? Was this why things were so awkward between them? She… she didn't know. She would have to apologize–

"Do… do you really believe that? Are… are you really happy for me?"

Maki frowned at the sudden questions. "H-hah? What are you talking a-about? O-of course I'm happy. If… if you're…" and Maki swallowed, forcing herself to smile even though Hanayo wasn't looking at her right now, "if… if you're happy, then I'm happy–"

"E-even t-though you're in love with me?"

Maki felt her world stop.

She opened her mouth, and closed it. She opened her mouth again. No sound came out. She swallowed, her throat painfully dry. "I… w-where… where did you hear that from?" she finally managed, trying her hardest to keep from breaking out in mid-hysterical laughter. "Was… was it Rin? Nozomi? Kotori, maybe? They're… they're s-such terrible pranksters–"

"It was from _you_!"

Hanayo pushed the blanket off her head and looked up at Maki, tears in her eyes. "T-the, t-the last time! When y-you got drunk a-at my apartment! You! You were saying so many things and… a-and… a-and you admitted your feelings! All those years! Even in high school!" She panted, trying to catch her breath. "Maki-chan, why… why didn't you say anything?"

Maki stared at her, gaping. It took her a long time to find her words and she still hadn't, even when she started speaking, rambling on.

"I-I was scared! I didn't know what to do! I… never… I never felt that way for someone else before! How… how was I supposed to… you… you were the very first friend that I… I made. I… I didn't… I didn't know how…" She looked away, unable to look at Hanayo any longer. "I didn't know what to do. I was scared. I… never felt that way for someone else before. I… didn't realize that what I had felt for you was… different than everyone else until… until it was… too late," she finished with a whisper.

"Maki-chan…"

Maki laughed though there was no amusement in her voice. "That… that must be why Rin and Nozomi kept teasing me over you, why they got mad at me when I told them I haven't been talking to you. They were trying to get me to realize my feelings but… I was always denying them. I always told myself that you were nothing more than a good friend, that's all you had to be. But then somewhere… s-somewhere along the line, I… I guess I ended up falling in love with you."

Maki let out a long breath, suddenly feeling as if a heavy weight was lifted off of her. She knew it was far from it though. "I'm… I'm sorry that I had to burden you with my feelings now. S-since you're… you're seeing someone else, you… you didn't need to know about them." She let out another laugh and put a hand over her eyes, trying to hide them. Before she could even confess her feelings, she had already been…

A hand gently touched hers, trying to tug it away. Maki could only let Hanayo take her hand away, confused now. Hanayo looked down at their hands.

"F-first of all, I, um, I'm not seeing anyone," Hanayo said. Maki let out a strangled sound. "A-and… we… we were both too scared, I guess. I never thought that you would… see me as more than a friend. I-I mean… you were always blushing and I thought… but you're the type of person who isn't honest with her feelings too, Maki-chan. You're kind of… awkward when it comes to dealing with others. So I didn't get my hopes up."

Despite the seriousness of everything, Maki narrowed her eyes at Hanayo's description of her. But she found she couldn't exactly deny it, not when it had indirectly led to this situation in the first place.

"And… and then I guess… all the years passed before we realized," Hanayo said quietly, smiling wistfully. Her words hung in the air, stopping the both of them from speaking further.

Maki let out a quiet sigh, looking down at their hands. She… she had missed this simple warmth that they used to share. Sometimes, at night, even she had moments where she wondered about everything that could have been, if she hadn't always been so quick to deny everything. Maybe… maybe…

"We're… we're not going to have a lot of time for each other… I-I mean, I… I already barely made time for this," Maki found herself speaking. They felt hollow, as if they were coming from someone else. "I… I-I already barely make time for… for myself. A-and there's still medical school, and then I'll probably… take over my parents' hospital and then… then…" She trailed off with a sigh. "You should… you should find someone who can–"

Hanayo rubbed her thumb over Maki's hand, stopping her words. "Maki-chan, you're… you're thinking too far. How about now?"

"… h-huh? Now–" and the words Maki wanted to speak became lost in a choked gasp when she realized Hanayo's face was right next to hers. One of her hands came up to brush against Maki's cheek, fingertips ghosting down her neck to rest against her shoulder after. Maki shivered from her touch.

"Maki-chan, I… I think we've both waited long enough," Hanayo whispered, still leaning closer. Her eyes closed but she stopped moving, holding herself back. Maki stared at her, her other hand clenching and unclenching in the bed sheets in her nervousness.

Hanayo… she wanted… she wanted Maki to make the first move. Was that it? That… that meant she liked her back too right? After so many years, so many close moments where Maki shut herself off only to realize what she really wanted, this… this felt too sudden. Maki tried to unscramble her thoughts, thrown into a frenzy when she realized Hanayo was close, so close, _too close–_

Hanayo slowly opened her eyes and pulled back slightly. Maki didn't need to see the disappointment on her face; she could feel it coming from her too. When Hanayo's hand began to pull out of hers, Maki couldn't take it anymore.

Reaching forward to take Hanayo's hand again, she pulled the other girl forward and wrapped her other arm around her. Hanayo yelped in surprise, the blankets slipping off of her. Maki only hesitated for another second before finally kissing her.

It… it was… awkward, clumsy, the both of them still unsure. But it was everything Maki wanted, something she thought she would only experience in her dreams. She pulled Hanayo closer still, wanting nothing more than to feel only Hanayo in this moment.

They fell down, with Maki on top. She pulled back for a quick moment before moving back in, hating how empty it suddenly felt when she wasn't kissing Hanayo. She let her hands wander all over Hanayo's body as Hanayo's own arms wound tight around Maki, trying to pull her closer and hold her in place, as if to make sure she was real.

It was hot. It was wonderful. It was terrifying. Maki had never known anything like this, where it felt as if she forgot everything in the world except for Hanayo, wanting to do nothing but memorize the way Hanayo breathlessly gasped out her name, how amazingly soft Hanayo felt, how… just…

Maki felt Hanayo move closer, her chest pressing against her own–

Immediately, Maki pulled back, eyes wide and gasping for breath. Hanayo made a sound of protest, trying to urge her back down. Despite every instinct telling her to listen, Maki stayed put, desperately trying to figure out how to work her mind enough to say a very important sentence that Hanayo needed to know.

"Hanayo," she gasped out, the only word she knew how to speak at the moment. She quickly shook her head, concentrating to speak. "You're! Y-you're… y-y-you're, u-uh, still _n-naked_ ," Maki squeaked out, her face burning from embarrassment.

"Eh?" Hanayo stopped moving, blinking at her before glancing down at herself. She yelped and quickly moved her hands, slapping them over Maki's eyes. Maki nearly fell down as Hanayo insistently pushed her hands onto her face, struggling to keep herself steady.

"I… I'm… this… t-this is a lot more embarrassing now." Hanayo whimpered.

"I d-don't mind!" Maki was blurting out before she could even think. "I-I mean! N-not like that! I m-meant like y-you've already seen me naked and, uh—s-shit, that's probably n-not the best thing to say here." She let out a nervous laugh, feeling around. "A-anyway! U-uh, I think w-we're on top of the b-blankets s-so–"

The door kicked open.

"Yo, Maki-chan, Kayo-chin! Nozomi-chan told me to get you guys, are you–" and Rin paused, taking in the sight of Maki on top of a naked Hanayo, the both of them awake and breathless. She stared at them before squinting her eyes as if to make sure she was seeing what she was _definitely_ seeing. Her eyes widened in realization and she nodded slowly, her whole face turning bright red. "Uh! U-uh, s-sorry for interrupting, nya!" She slammed the door shut. The door opened again though and Rin peeked her head back in, catching Hanayo's eyes. Flashing a grin, she gave her a thumbs-up before slamming the door shut again.

Hanayo felt like her whole _body_ was blushing at this point.

"That… that was Rin, wasn't it." With her eyes covered, Maki hadn't seen what had happened but she knew nothing good could come out of _Rin_ discovering them. Maki immediately pulled away with a growl, her face completely red. "S-shit! I'm gonna go stop her–" and she jumped off from the bed. She didn't land properly though, and ended up face first on the floor once again. Not even deterred at all but cursing loudly, she quickly pushed herself up and scrambled for the door.

Hanayo shouted after her, frantic. "W-wait, Maki-chan! W-wait, at least–"

The door slammed shut for the third time.

"–find some clothes for me," she finished weakly.

* * *

 **A/N** : this was done for two prompts over on tumblr where I had to include certain lines and because they happened to be something about being naked in bed, I was like lol let's just put them in the same continuity for fun. If I'm not lazy, maybe it'll get an epilogue but the story is pretty much done. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.


End file.
